Free
by winged.maiden
Summary: Faramir wishes for nothing more than to make Eowyn smile. But when he finds something that could prehaps put a smile on her face, he reaces to her to see if it will work. *complete
1. The elf's advice

Free  
  
**Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters. They are all owned by J.R.R. Tolkien, as are the names of the cities and some of the events that happen in the prologue.**  
  
It seems easy now. Before, no matter what I did, she would not smile, not even a smirk. People have always thought me as a funny man, and yet she never laughed. They told me to give up, to let her be, but how could I give up on someone who, in my heart, I felt I could love one day. Hah. It seems hardly possible for her to love me back of course. Love truly never does work out for me. You could call it a bad luck, or that I have yet to find my soul mate, I just call it a curse. I will never feel true happiness, as people say. They seem to think that one cannot be happy unless in love, unless they have someone to sleep beside them at night. Although I wish for that, I do realize that with or without a lover, I am still happy. I just want Eowyn to be happy, to smile and laugh again. Ever since Saruman possessed her uncle's body, she has not a smile to share with the world. A smile from her beautiful lips. All I want, since the moment I saw her is for her to be happy. It seemed almost impossible then. But I knew there was a way, and it worked. She smiled that day and I shall never forget it. I suppose it started at my home, Gondor, where after weeping for my brother's death, I was greeted by a friendly stranger who vowed to help me win the woman of my dreams.  
  
"I want her to be happy," Faramir sighed as he sipped his ale.  
  
He sat in the wooden chair, looking at his companion sitting across from him. The blonde elf looked at him with his piercing blue eyes. Faramir knew nothing of this elf, he was actually the first elf Faramir had set eyes on. He examined the stranger's facial features, his pointy ears were truly odd to Faramir. He resisted any questions he wished to ask, in fear of being rude. He knew staring wasn't any better, so he shifted his eyes to the doorway, still thinking about the woman.  
  
"So free her," the blonde unknown elf said.  
  
Faramir looked at him, confused, but intrigued. Legolas of the Mirkwood realm was the elf's name. He looked at Legolas, hoping he would explain his thought.  
  
"Just how am I supposed to do that?" Faramir asked.  
  
"First, you should probably go to Rohan, I mean she does live there, not here, Faramir of Gondor," Legolas answered.  
  
"I'm not stupid. I just don't understand how I'm supposed to free her, what does that even mean?"  
  
"You'll find out, once you see her,"  
  
"And I am to trust you! You don't even make sense!"  
  
"It will make sense my friend. Think about it, perhaps you will understand it by the time you reach Rohan," Legolas replied.  
  
"I'll take you up on that offer," Faramir laughed  
  
"Hopefully we'll meet again, and you can introduce me to her, but I must be going,"  
  
Legolas finished up his ale and stood up from the table. Faramir showed him to the door and watched him head off. He sighed, hoping that once he reached Rohan, Eowyn could love him. The following day, Faramir climbed his horse and headed on his journey to Rohan. As he rode, he tried to figure to what Legolas meant by his comment. He hoped he'd be able to help Eowyn. He galloped quickly, his dirty blonde hair blowing in front of his eyes, blurring his vision. The sun shown on his back, and he feared taking out one of his arrows as it would burn him at the touch. He continued down the path until suddenly the horse stepped on something that made him stop abruptly and made Faramir go flying off the front of him.  
  
"That can't be good," Faramir said as he got up.  
  
He brushed off his pants and turned to his horse. It seemed quite excited and hyper so Faramir rubbed it to calm it down.  
  
"There, there boy, it's okay. I'm sure it was nothing. I'll go see," he said before backtracking a bit.  
  
He came to something shiny on the path and knelt down to get a closer look. It seemed to be a necklace made of gold wire. He picked it up and examined it. It was light, as if made of feathers, but it shined like gold. It was thin, almost invisible to the distant eye. The only thing that gave it away was the glare it sent off when hit with the sunrays. It was welded and shaped into the form of two leaves connected together by a circular design.  
  
Faramir seemed in awe over this simple piece of jewelry. He couldn't take his eyes off of it until he heard his horse cry again. He quickly remembered what he was doing and stood up. He climbed his horse and placed the necklace in his pocket. With a quick kick on the horse's side, he continued his journey. 


	2. Making her smile

Before long he reached Rohan. As he walked through the gateway to Edoras, he replayed the first time he met Eowyn. It had been a week ago from that day, when Faramir's father, Denethor, had asked him to go to Edoras to see what was wrong with Theoden, King of Rohan. He had done what he had been told, but he did not expect to see such a beautiful woman when he did so. He had caught her stare a few times, but she had quickly turned away once his eyes hit her. He knew there was more to her than a beautiful face and a pretty dress, and he wanted to know what it was. But tried as he could, he could not get much out of her, for all she did was stay by her uncle's side and weep for his health. Faramir wanted to help her then, and he wanted even more to help her now. He reached the stable and locked up his horse. Then quickly, he ran outside and up the front steps to the castle at the top of the hill. He was not stopped by the guards, as they recognized his face from the last time. He entered the main hall to see Eowyn, sitting beside her uncle's throne, weeping like she did before. He walked quietly, hoping not to upset her even more with his presence, but when she turned to see him, she did not yell. Eowyn stood up and walked towards the steward, meeting him in the middle of the hall. Her face showed little emotion to see him, and he knew not if she was happy or sad at his coming.  
  
"My Lady, your uncle, is he getting better?" Faramir asked, breaking the silence.  
  
"No, I do believe he gets worse everyday. I have little hope left," she said, her eyes to the ground.  
  
Faramir reached out his hand and cupped her chin. She looked up into his eyes and he could see her pain. He wanted to help her even more now that he saw her again. She searched his eyes, looking for an answer to her problems. He could not give her one.  
  
"There's always hope, my Lady, he will get better,"  
  
"But that is what they all say, the men, elves, dwarves. They do not know what I am feeling. They don't know how much this pains me,"  
  
"I know, Eowyn. I came to help,"  
  
Eowyn looked into his eyes, knowing not what to think or feel. Her blonde hair fell in front of her ears, clinging to the dried tears on her cheeks. She could smell the tears, and taste the salty residue on her lips. This stranger, a man she had only had the pleasure of meeting once, came to see her.  
  
"You came to see me? That's it?" she asked, knowing not what to say.  
  
"Yes my Lady, I came to make sure you were okay. When I met you, you looked so cold, and you still do. I wish for you to be happy, and I hope I am the one who can do that," Faramir explained.  
  
"Faramir of Gondor, I fear there is nothing you can do to help me. The only thing that will cure my sadness is having my uncle be cured, be himself again. He does not even remember who I am! Nor his son, or my brother! Nothing will help me, no one can save me."  
  
"Then it seems I can't help you. Then again, I can't even save myself."  
  
"What do you mean by that my Lord?"  
  
"I came here for selfish reasons. Not all of them selfish, I do truly want to help you, but I want to help you for my own good."  
  
Eowyn searched his eyes, laughing inside from confusion. She looked away, fearing the smile forming on her lips.  
  
"I still don't know what you're talking about Faramir, you're quite a confusing man," she said.  
  
"I hoped for you to like me. To enjoy my company, to smile because of me."  
  
"Faramir, I do like you. If you are talking in a romantic sort of way, I do not have time for romance. Not until my uncle is better, for he is the most important aspect of my life at the moment."  
  
"Oh."  
  
Faramir looked to the ground, his long hair shielding the sadness in his eyes. He felt a hand on his cheek and he looked back up to see Eowyn.  
  
"That does not mean that I do not like you, my Lord. If I said that, then I would be lying."  
  
The sadness left Faramir's eyes quickly and a smile formed on his lips. But as he looked at Eowyn, she still showed no smile. Instead she had turned back toward her uncle, and fresh tears formed in her eyes. She looked quickly at Faramir, wishing for comfort. Faramir slowly put his arm around her and she collapsed in her arms. He held her tightly as she cried, not knowing how to fix it. Suddenly he remembered the necklace he had found. He reached into his pocket and pulled it out. He parted slightly from Eowyn, and held it in front of her. She looked at it as he placed it in her hands.  
  
"It's so light," she mumbled under her breath as she looked at it  
  
"I found it on the way here. Maybe it was put there for a reason."  
  
"What reason would that be, my Lord?" Eowyn asked, looking at him.  
  
"To cure your sadness," Faramir simply replied.  
  
She looked at him, then at the necklace, then back to him. Faramir took the necklace and placed it around her neck. As he did this, Eowyn still looked at him, and before he was far away from her, she kissed him. He dropped his hands from her neck and placed them on her back as he kissed her back. They slowly parted and looked at each other. Faramir noticed something different and he soon realized what it was when he saw her mouth. She was smiling, and it was just as he had imagined it.  
  
"Perhaps, Faramir, it was possible to save me, for I believe you did," she said, still smiling.  
  
"I told you there was hope," he said, before leaning in and kissing her again.  
  
She kissed him back and the tears stopped. The pain left for that moment, for that kiss and she knew that as long as Faramir was near, she was free.  
  
The End 


End file.
